Asked by: Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the discontinuance of history of art A-level on the number of students taking history of art at undergraduate level.
Answered by Lord Nash
We are disappointed that AQA has taken the decision to withdraw from offering these subjects at A level. Neither subject, however, is a pre-requisite for degree level study, and both are taken by a relatively small number of students.
The option for AQA or another exam board to develop A level specifications for these subjects in future will also remain open. We are in discussion with the exam boards on this issue.
Asked by: Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the discontinuance of archaeology A-level on the number of students taking archaeology at undergraduate level.
Answered by Lord Nash
We are disappointed that AQA has taken the decision to withdraw from offering these subjects at A level. Neither subject, however, is a pre-requisite for degree level study, and both are taken by a relatively small number of students.
The option for AQA or another exam board to develop A level specifications for these subjects in future will also remain open. We are in discussion with the exam boards on this issue.
Asked by: Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they gave to recommendations of the Bacc for the Future campaign in deciding which subjects to include in the English Baccalaureate.
Answered by Lord Nash
The English Baccalaureate (EBacc) comprises the core academic curriculum: English, mathematics, the sciences (including computer science), history or geography and a language. The subjects are closely based on the facilitating subjects at A level, which the Russell Group of universities say keep a wide range of degree courses open to students.
The Government believes that, alongside the EBacc, all pupils should have access to an excellent, well-rounded education and the arts are central to this. All schools, including academies and free schools, must provide a broad and balanced curriculum that promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils at the school and of society. We expect all schools to offer a wide range of options alongside the EBacc and have designed it to be limited in size so that there is flexibility for pupils to take additional GCSEs that reflect their own individual interests and strengths.
We are considering the responses to the consultation on the implementation of the EBacc, including those from the Bacc for the Future campaign, and we will publish the Government response in due course.